GEO Blue Planet is organizing a supplemental issue for the Journal of Operational Oceanography titled “Ocean Observing for Societal Benefit”. Focusing on case studies of ocean observations being used to benefit various sectors of society, submissions for this issue may include, but are not limited to, coastal communities, healthy ecosystems and food security, the blue economy, and maritime awareness.

Dalhousie PhD student, Manuel Dureuil has tagged 20 weasel sharks and 21 nurse sharks since his OTN-supported research project began in the West African country of Cabo Verde. Dureuil is the president ofSharks of the Atlantic Research and Conservation Centre (ShARCC), an NGO working to recover and maintain healthy populations of Atlantic elasmobranch species through research, education and conservation initiatives.

Aside from tagging sharks on his most recent field operation in Cabo Verde, Dureuil participated in education and outreach efforts to get local students and fishers involved in marine research. His team also outfitted three endangered common guitarfish with mark-recapture tags and gathered valuable genetic samples and measurements from a juvenile female neonate scalloped hammerhead.

For a full update on Dureuil’s expedition to the Cabo Verdean islands of Sao Vincente and Maio, visit the OTN website.

OTN bull shark collaboration launches in Mozambique

Underwater Africa has launched a new research project investigating bull shark residency, habitat use, and movement patterns in Mozambique’s Inhambane Estuary — an ocean area that has seen 12 fatal bull shark attacks over the past two years. Throughout August 2017, ten Vemco acoustic receivers supplied by OTN have been deployed in the Estuary in areas where shark sightings are common. Researchers hope this project will help safeguard local communities from human-shark interactions. More here.

Big-eyed thresher shark provides students rare study opportunity

Dalhousie students got a unique lesson in the lab their first week back to school: a thresher shark that washed up on Nova Scotia’s Crystal Crescent Beach in pristine condition provided a rare opportunity to study this vulnerable species.
Find out what Dal veterinarian, Chris Harvey-Clark, had to say about the thresher shark here.

OTN collaborator tracking critical reef fish in the Gulf of MexicoOTN collaborator Dr. Sue Lowerre-Barbieri (FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute/University of Florida/iTag) is leading critical fish tracking work in the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Barbieri is tracking spawning sites, site fidelity and potential stock mixing of gag grouper, red snapper, and the greater amberjack. Her studies use OTN receivers to understand fishing pressures which threaten the survival of these species. A full summary of Dr. Barbieri’s OTN-supported projects can be found here.